Develop an emergency plan and share it with your family. Make sure that everybody knows where to go and what to do during a severe weather emergency.

Take time and go over your plan at the dinner table.

Once you have your safe spot, it’s important to include some important items. Flying debris is the greatest danger in tornadoes, store protective coverings (e.g., mattress, sleeping bags, thick blankets, etc) in or next to your shelter space - ready to use on a few seconds' notice. Bike helmets are a great way to protect you and your family. Have an emergency kit which includes an extra ID, credit card and important prescriptions.

It’s also a good idea to make sure everybody has an extra pair of shoes in your safe spot. You never know what you might have to walk over in the middle of the night.

Know the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means conditions are favorable for severe weather to occur. A warning means that the severe weather is occurring and action needs to be taken.

Warnings are issued by county - make sure everybody in your family knows what county they live in.

Know the signs of a tornado: Weather forecasting science is not perfect and some tornadoes do occur without a tornado warning. There is no substitute for staying alert to the sky. Besides an obviously visible tornado, here are some things to look and listen for:

1. Strong, persistent rotation in the cloud base.

2. Whirling dust or debris on the ground under a cloud base -- tornadoes sometimes have no funnel!

3. Hail or heavy rain followed by either dead calm or a fast, intense wind shift. Many tornadoes are wrapped in heavy precipitation and can't be seen.

4. Loud, continuous roar or rumble, which doesn't fade in a few seconds like thunder. Listen closely, this can occur day or night!

5. At night, look for small, bright, blue-green to white flashes at ground level near a thunderstorm (as opposed to silvery lightning up in the clouds). These mean power lines are being snapped by very strong wind, maybe a tornado.

6. At night, persistent lowering from the cloud base, illuminated or silhouetted by lightning -- especially if it is on the ground or there is a blue-green-white power flash underneath.